Former nursing home employee accused of stealing $141,000 from resident accounts

The former business manager of an Oklahoma City nursing center was charged Thursday with stealing more than $141,000 from three residents.

Amy Gustina Klimkowski was charged with three counts of financial exploitation of the elderly and 10 felony counts of obtaining money by false pretenses. All three victims were women over the age of 75.

Authorities say Klimkowski began stealing from residents of Windsor Hills Nursing Center as early as July 2010 to fund car payments, utility bills and her cell phone. The Oklahoma attorney general's office said in a statement that Klimkowski signed on as a trustee of the victims' accounts where pension and retirement funds were deposited, and allegedly used temporary checks to take money from the accounts.

If found guilty, Klimkowski could face up to 10 years in prison, and up to $10,000 in fines for each count of financial exploitation of the elderly. The remaining charges carry a combined potential of 56 years in prison and up to $46,000 in fines.

About 60,000 elderly or disabled Medicaid recipients in Louisiana are being told they should expect to lose their benefits in July, and advocates say more than a quarter of them could be forced out of the long-term care facilities they call home.